


Real

by eisneRiegan



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Declarations Of Love, F/M, Falling In Love, Fic within a Fic, Fluff, Idiots in Love, Romance, Romantic Fluff, Story within a Story, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-18
Updated: 2020-12-18
Packaged: 2021-03-10 20:14:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,565
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28142946
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eisneRiegan/pseuds/eisneRiegan
Summary: Legend says that Seteth once wrote a story about the Queen and King, in an attempt to show a different side of them.Hilda is all in for it.
Relationships: My Unit | Byleth & Claude von Riegan, My Unit | Byleth/Claude von Riegan
Comments: 1
Kudos: 40





	Real

**Author's Note:**

> I couldn't think of a better title. Sorry.

A gifted young lady who resides in the aquatic capital of Derdriu, named Byleth, is highly sought after by many young nobles for her knowledge and most of all her beauty. 

However, she would have none of them for she detests their greed and their shallow declaration of love for her. It was for this reason that she promised not to marry any man who don't have the same virtues as her father.

It was enough to discourage majority of those who have weak resolve but there are still those a few handful who still braved to court her that ended in vain.

At this point, the Goddess of Love, have noticed Byleth and decided to involve herself personally in the matter. She came down from her shrine and disguised herself as a young woman in need, knowing that Byleth cannot turn her head away from such thing.

Taking in the disguised Goddess who had introduced herself as Lady Valentine, Byleth became fast friends with her.

Lady Valentine would often visit her, trying to get to know why Byleth, for everything that she has, will not take a lover. The Goddess could feel that Byleth is yearning for that love deep inside her for that is something you cannot hide from her eyes no matter how hard you try, yet Byleth has a hard time connecting with the men that comes for her.

Taking in as much information as she needed, The Lady Valentine then took off to look for the man that may have a chance of having a rapport with her.

Several days later, a gift from an unknown sender arrived for Byleth.

It was a beautiful one-to-one sculpture of a young man whose face has this gentle expression, his hands extending out to her as if asking permission to hold her hand or help her up. His hair, although sculpted out of marble, have that soft look, especially that lock of braid under that half turban.

The sculpted clothes were not those of their lands, making Byleth wonder who would have sent it. Surely a foreign man wouldn't have heard about her?

As she was admiring and wondering where the sculpture would have come from, her father came in and stopped dead on his tracks.

"Another suitor's gift?" He asked, raising an eyebrow at the sculpture.

"If it is, they're the vainest one who attempted to woo me." Byleth replied as she stepped closer to it, examining the comely face on it. "But I don't think it is."

"Really?"

"They would have taken an extra step and leave a letter about why they sent this."

Jeralt only regarded his daughter for a moment. "So, what do you plan to do with that?"

"I don't know. I have to find a place for it."

"You're keeping it?"

"It's a finely made art, dad. I wouldn't throw it out that easily."

Jeralt thought back on those suitors of hers that had spent quite a lot on their gifts for her that she either gave away to her handmaidens or secretly sold back to the merchants for a higher price.

She's probably intrigued with it and the sender, and Jeralt hopes that he doesn't have to resort to extreme measures to keep his daughter safe from whoever would take advantage of her.

In the end, she had it moved to her sitting room, standing by the large windows that provide some kind of ethereal background during the daylight and the twinkling stars at night made it look like it's enticing Byleth to take its hand to explore outside while the world is asleep and no one to interrupt them.

Everyone around her have noticed her sudden shift in mood, as she spends more time in her sitting room, staring at the sculpture. She had instructed to not entertain any other noble who are there for her hand, unless they are there for real business deals.

Every day, she would sit there, drinking her tea and reading a book while the sculpture stood across from her to keep her company. Sometimes she would spend hours staring at it, wondering if there is a man out there they had based the sculpture on. If there is such a man, she wondered what kind of personality he has and she entertained herself for many hours in a day about what kind of conversations they would have.

Some days she would come up to it, touching its cold face, pretending it to be warm and him smiling at her for their closeness. She almost kissed it too, out of curiosity of how it would feel to kiss a man that she's starting to have infatuation on. 

It wasn't long that she caved in, kissing its cold lips at night before she turns in, embarrassing as it is. A few times of this, and Byleth soon became misreable with her situation.

She went to the temple of the Goddess of Love in disguise, in hopes that maybe...just maybe...she may have a solution or a recommendation for her.

Surely there's someone out there that will come close to him?

The Lady Valentine only watched from her seat, bemused to see the once stoic Byleth, who tried her hardest to not feel anything to the opposite sex due to their shallowness, now have come in person to ask for guidance on how to deal with it now that she thinks she's experiencing the same shallowness for having feelings for a statue.

The Lady took on her disguise and went up to Byleth who is silently praying at one corner, tapping her lightly on the shoulder.

"Been a while since we last saw each other." She greeted Byleth. "What brought you here?"

Byleth only shrugged, not wanting to divulge her reason. It's bad enough she came here out of desperation, no one has to know that her affections were for an inanimate object.

"Taking my chances if the Goddess of Love is real."

"She's very much real." Lady Valentine replied, a bit offended. "In fact, I think she goes around wherever she pleases and look for people who are struggling with processing their emotions."

Byleth laughed at that. "If that's true, then I guess we haven't crossed paths. Or maybe I've incurred her wrath over the years..."

Lady Valentine only crossed her arms, annoyed. "If I tell you to go to the East by the end of this month, will you do it?" 

"The East? Why?"

"Let's say...it's my gut feelings you'll find your prayers answered there."

Byleth only raised an eyebrow at her. "Are you her messenger or priestess?"

"Just go and see for yourself."

Despite of her doubt, Byleth still went East by the end of the month, since her father is going that direction as well for business. She wandered around the city on her own, admiring each stall and buying trinkets.

Trouble came upon her quickly, as three men encircled her, forcing her to come with them.

She could've handled them with no problem, however one man decided to come up to be her "knight in shining armor".

He had hit their hands with the butt of his dagger with enough force to release her, grabbed her wrist and ran off with her.

They crisscrossed through the market, not stopping until they entered a merchant's warehouse from the back. He pulled her close to him, as both of them panted from their run.

They listened to the commotion outside, as the men searched for the couple. More commotion happened when the city guards came and picked up the troublemakers.

"I think the coast is clear." He said as his pulse from the adrenaline went back to normal. He looked at her finally, to see the face of the lady he had saved.

It seems like time had stopped for the two of them when their eyes meet for the first time. The seconds stretched into minutes, as they took in each detail about one another silently.

The silence was broken as they both spoke the same two words in the same breathless tone.

"You're real."

Byleth pushed herself away gently from him to see him properly.

He looks exactly like the sculpture, apart from his plain normal clothes. He doesn't wear the same rich ornaments the sculpture has, that she had to wonder if he's only been the basis of that art that resides in her sitting room.

He tentatively reached out to touch her cheek with his fingertips, sliding them gently over her skin before resting his warm palm against it.

"You're real..." He said again, this time with a happy sob. "I... I'm not dreaming, am I? You're not going to disappear again, right?"

Byleth has many questions regarding his comment, but she pushed them aside as she raised her own hand to touch his face.

They were soft and warm, unlike the sculpture's cold one. He turned his head slightly to kiss her palm, making Byleth flush at the affectionate gesture.

The two of them basked in each other's companionship for a while, with him kissing her hand every now and then. They walked around the city, hand in hand, their eyes always going back to each other's faces as if afraid that once they look away, their companion will vanish.

They rested under a shade of a big tree in one of the city's plaza, sharing a snack. She learned his name is Khalid, the eldest prince of the current Queen Consort the kingdom, and he usually go down the city to run away from his duties.

She listened to his story of how he started dreaming about her for the past months, right after he got arranged into a political marriage. He had ignored it at first but the more frequent his dreams of her happened, he started to develop feelings for her that at times, he'd rather be asleep to be with her.

As for Byleth, she told him of the sculpture from an unknown sender, which baffled the Prince since no sculptor have ever made him their model, let alone send one all the way to her homeland without it getting damaged.

Their time together is something like out of a dream. And as all dreams are, there is an ending to it.

"You're about to be wed to another." Byleth started sadly but Khalid quickly sat up and placed a finger on her lips.

"No. I'll take care of that later. You don't have to worry about a thing."

"You can't break off an engagement if it involves your country."

"Trust me. You said you're going back home in two days?"

"If negotiation goes smoothly, we might go home tomorrow."

Khalid chewed on his lower lip at that, thinking. "Tight schedule but I can make it work. You're staying in Setareh inn, right?"

Byleth only nodded as response, and the Prince only gave her a warm smile.

"I'll see you tomorrow then."

They parted ways at sundown, with Jeralt noticing the change in his daughter's demeanor. The following day, the Prince came to the inn with a large bag full of his things. He beamed at Byleth, who only stared at him in confusion, and turned to Jeralt who recognized him due to the sculpture as well.

"So, you're Narcissus." Jeralt commented, confusing the Prince and Byleth pinched the bridge of her nose.

"You must mean the sculpture sent to your home..." Khalid finally said. "I swear I didn't sent that. I'm not one to stand still for a long time."

"What brought you here then?"

The Prince took a deep breath, placing a hand over his heart and bowed politely at him. "I'm here to officially ask for your daughter's hand in marriage, sir."

Jeralt raised an eyebrow at him, then at his daughter.

This is nothing new. Many men come to their house to ask for his blessing even though they have no prior interaction with them.

But seeing how Byleth looks at him, he guess his waiting for a dependable son-in-law is coming to an end.

"I don't really meddle with her affairs." He finally said. "If she'll have you, then there's no need to butter me up. But if you hurt her in any way, I'll be the first one to hunt you down."

"Threats aren't really necessary, dad." Byleth scolded him. Jeralt placed a hand on her head, patting it gently.

"You're my only daughter. It's only natural."

Byleth pouted at him before turning to Khalid. "What about your–?"

Khalid smiled at her. "My mother consented and she said she'll talk to my father about it. She knows what it's like after all in my situation."

With Jeralt's consent, the Prince went back home with them, and the couple held a simple ceremony attended by close friends.

The Lady Valentine was also there, watching them in the sideline, proud of her work for bringing them together that took several months.

She's not one to fully take interest in a couple to personally work on bringing them together, but they're both so unique that she couldn't help but take interest and help them cross paths.

She couldn't wait to see their little ones running about.

  
**EXTRA** :

"A bit too much about their sappy love story don't you think?" Hilda asked after she had read everything Seteth has written. "I didn't really do much to get them together. And I'm sure it was the Professor that had problems noticing Claude's lovestruck eyes. Shouldn't she be the sculpture instead?"

The older man only stretched contentedly, smiling at her. "They won't be seeing this until it is published and by that time, I'm sure there are lots of stories circulating around them, they probably won't glance at this." 

"It has your name on it. They will surely read it." Hilda pointed out. "Pretty sure those two will come over here all flustered with this story. Not to mention you used Claude's real name..." 

"They both know how affectionate they are with one another in public after the war. They had it coming. Think of it as a revenge for putting us in many awkward political discussions with Brigid and Morfis since they can't stop gazing at one another lovingly, not focusing at the task at hand." 

Hilda looked at him for a moment, then laughed.

"You know, I think I can get on board with that. You're not going to change their names, right?" 

"I considered it at first, yes. But I think it's better this way. Written text is often preserved much longer and this could be a good way to pass down their story, however outlandish I have written it. Chroniclers and historians tend to write down what they only hear without experiencing it first hand." 

"Don't say that. It's perfect. No other couple from the Academy is as sappy as them. Well, there's Ferdinand and Flayn." Hilda stopped at that, then looked down at the papers. 

"Oh hey, why don't you write about them?" 

"I will not write about my sister this way."

"But you're fine writing about the Queen of Fodlan and the King of Almyra?"

"I'm sure that those two will find it amusing. As for Flayn...I shudder to think what she'll say to me if I pen down their story."

"I think she'd like it."

"I am certain she won't."


End file.
